Argos to leave Haverhill High Street after 21 years

After 21 years as a fixture on Haverhill’s High Street, the new owners of Argos have confirmed it will close next summer.

The store opened on October 31, 1996, but from next June it will close and be relocated into Sainsbury’s.

Sainsbury’s believe the new store will bring extra choice and convenience to customers and is also confident that no current staff at the Argos store will lose their jobs as they will be offered a post at the new store, be given the chance to move over to Sainsbury’s or relocated to another branch in the region.

Paul Donno, the chairman of the Haverhill Chamber of Commerce, expressed hope that a new business can swiftly be found to occupy the High Street building once it is vacated.

“I think that first of all I’m pleased that, as I understand it, the jobs are still being safeguarded.

“However, Argos is a good draw to our town centre and it’s disappointing that another household name is vacating the High Street, with (the former) NatWest and HSBC also as empty large buildings in the town we need to fill these with some good names for the future, and quickly, for the prosperity of the town centre.”

The Argos store will offer thousands of popular products for immediate pickup. 20,000 products can also be ordered to collect in store within hours and 20,000 extra products can be ordered for home delivery.

There will also be an eBay collection point so buyers can collect their ebay purchases.

The move comes after Sainsbury’s acquired Home Retail Group, which owns Argos and is part of its strategy to help its customers shop whenever and wherever they want.

The combination of Sainsbury’s and Argos will enable customers to shop conveniently through different online, mobile and store channels.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are really proud to be introducing shoppers to our new-look store within Sainsbury’s and give them access to the things they want quickly and easily.

“Shoppers increasingly browse and buy online via PCs, tablets and other mobile devices, while still wanting the immediacy of a local store to pick up their purchases.”

“Sainsbury’s has been part of this community for a number of years now, and we are really thrilled that Argos has joined us here.

“The combination of Sainsbury’s and Argos will enable customers to shop conveniently through all those different channels.

“It will also give customers more choice across different product ranges, creating the UK’s largest non-food retailer.”